Yesterday I was thinking about this project and remembering the years I spent sewing. My mom was a seamstress, so of course, she taught me to sew. But I never loved it, or yearned to do it. Having her critical eye on all my projects had a little something to do with that, I think. Now, with this project looming, I must get past that distaste, not just to produce this quilt, which is a small thing, but also to pass this skill along to the granbeanie. She’s my crafty little mini-me after all! 10 months ago

So I’m putting a deadline on it of this Christmas. 10 months ago

It’s a dress my mother made for me for my sister-in-law’s wedding. (She now has five grown children and three grandchildren!) It has lots of fabric and I will try to incorporate some of the sewn features to preserve my mother’s handiwork. This project is beginning to capture my imagination. 16 months ago

I have shirts I have worn thin in places and my old wedding dress and a jacket I wore for two decades. I have a caftan I wore when pregnant that I made. I have enough to make a lovely cover. Amazingly, all these things go together in a madcap kind of way. I think I shall make this by hand, rather than struggle with a sewing machine. I will give it to one of the beanies. 16 months ago